Design&All Rights - Michal Honkys©2007
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Introduction
I took a long walk. I walked from busy roundabouts, through the concrete jungle with surprisingly plenty of greenery, through unexpected open areas, parks and allotments to the local archive and back again. From being an “Invisible” visitor I became a part of the place, abandoning the sense of time, piecing together the patchwork of the place. Is any landscape a result of our limited desires and needs in a particular time? Are these needs and desires formulated mostly by the few in power? Do such generated landscapes affect the way we think and live as a society as well as individuals? What would happen to our landscapes and lives if individuals and local communities were given space to have their say, took more control over their space and lives?
On my walks through the nooks and crannies of the Elephant many people told me they felt alienated and excluded, losing their sense of place or control over where their lived. They blame the Council or the Government for not doing enough to help them, for seeing people and the space only in the algorithmic ways of numbers and profits.
I took a long walk. I walked from busy roundabouts, through the concrete jungle with surprisingly plenty of greenery, through unexpected open areas, parks and allotments to the local archive and back again. From being an “Invisible” visitor I became a part of the place, abandoning the sense of time, piecing together the patchwork of the place. Is any landscape a result of our limited desires and needs in a particular time? Are these needs and desires formulated mostly by the few in power? Do such generated landscapes affect the way we think and live as a society as well as individuals? What would happen to our landscapes and lives if individuals and local communities were given space to have their say, took more control over their space and lives?
On my walks through the nooks and crannies of the Elephant many people told me they felt alienated and excluded, losing their sense of place or control over where their lived. They blame the Council or the Government for not doing enough to help them, for seeing people and the space only in the algorithmic ways of numbers and profits.
Nooks and Crannies of Elephant and Castle (2009)
On the other hand, I met quite a few reclaiming their neighbourhoods - creating community gardens, restoring local parks or creating new ones on the neglected sites, growing food, keeping bees, but most importantly sharing their knowledge and experience with others. And, even government and local authorities support some of their initiatives and projects.
I found a patch of sweet wild strawberries in the Heygate Estate, picked cherries and tried to identify herbs and plants in parks; I had delicious fried plantain, Africo-Caribian vegetable speciality at East Street and chatted to many friendly local people. The sense of community was apparent. No, do not take me wrong. Elephant is not a beautiful, nor rich and safe area. But it can be as beautiful and as safe as people will desire. The regeneration is necessary - not only of the landscape, but also of our minds.
Epilogue:
While my camera and myself are being soaked in the thundery rain in the middle of the roundabout and the dark sky echoes the drama of the Elephant and Castle, I hear someone voicing from the stream of cars: “What the f... is that?”